1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sole coverings and dispensers therefore. More specifically the invention relates to a dispenser of disposable sole coverings that once applied reduce transfer of dirt and bacteria into indoor spaces covering the sole of a user's shoe. The sole coverings are sized to fit the shoes of a user, and thus are convenient in homes of users that do not wish to have shoes piled near the doorway.
There are many ways that bacteria can spread through a home, and the most overlooked way is by footwear. Everyday people enter and exit homes, and the majority of them fail to properly cover their shoes. The soles of a person's shoes can quickly change a clean room into an unsanitary one after repeated use, particularly if many users enter the room while wearing soiled footwear.
When a person walks into a house with their footwear on, the soles of the footwear bring along a portion of the contamination that they've come in contact with while outdoors. The soles of shoes can bring gum, dirt, mud, feces, grasses and other elements that might disrupt the cleanliness of the house. It doesn't take much time for a carpet to become imbedded with these elements. And because shoes transfer and deposit the dirt and grasses of wherever a person walks, the task of cleaning the floors becomes seemingly endless. Walking around the house in shoes that have soles contaminated with dirt, grasses and other unsanitary elements can lead to unclean floors and the spread of germs and bacteria. These unsanitary elements can create a room that is no longer aesthetically pleasing, and also increases the risk of causing and spreading sicknesses.
The most popular method of reducing the transfer between shoe soles and a floor is to have users remove their shoes once they enter a house. This solution reduces the area of the house that comes into contact with the soles of the footwear; however this solution quickly causes clutter at the entrance of the house and is not always convenient for all users. People who desire to have a clean house often have issues with clutter at the entrance of their houses caused by the placement of shoes at the front door. Temporary solutions to the clutter are to neatly place the shoes on a mat at the doorway or to place the footwear on shelving, but when there are multiple pairs of shoes, the entrance is bound to be covered with footwear, which can lead to unsafe situations.
There are several devices that attempt to reduce the transfer of undesirable elements from the sole of footwear throughout the house. These devices include coverings that enclose the sole of footwear to protect the sole from damage, or those that reduce the spread of undesirable contaminants throughout the house. The setback of existing devices is that these sole attachments are often bulky or not disposable. Additionally, some of the devices are not equipped with a mechanism that enables hands free attachment of the cover to the sole.
The present invention comprises a device configured for dispensing a footwear cover that is adapted to eliminate direct contact between the sole of a shoe and the interior floor of a home. The sole cover has a top surface comprising an adhesive that is adapted to adhere to the sole of a shoe, and a protective bottom layer formed from a durable material that permits the user to walk around on a variety of surfaces without damaging floors. The sole cover dispensing device includes an upper lid and a base, which form an internal compartment therebetween. The inside of the base is an electric motor, a motion sensor, and a set of rollers that are configured to expose the sole covers and their supporting sheet across an open platform within the center of the device. A processor within the motion sensor communicates with the motor and relays information on the removal of a sole cover from the platform. The processor then sends a signal that drives the motor, thereby causing the rollers to rotate and expose another set of covers over the platform. The device can be actuated without the use of a user's hands, or alternatively, the device may comprise a manual actuator. The dispenser device facilitates the decrease of germs within the household, and further provides a unique mechanism that aids in reducing the clutter at the doorway caused by leaving footwear at the entrance of a house.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to sole covers. These devices generally relate to footwear covers and means of dispensing the same. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
One such device is U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,620 to Gillet, which describes a sole attachment that covers the sole and heel of a shoe. The top surface of the sole attachment comprises an adhesive layer that enables securement to a shoe by pressing the top surface against the sole of a seal. Additionally the sole attachment comprises a fold lines that enable the adjustment of the length of the sole attachment. Although the sole covering of Gillet is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, it differs in that it fails to provide a dispensing device that aids in the attachment of the sole cover on to footwear without the use of the user's hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,704 to Kasbrick and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0254090 to Baxter both teach removable shoe coverings. The shoe covering is formed of a flexible sheet having a central section that covers the sole of the shoe and outwardly extending side portions that wrap around the shoe. Furthermore, an adhesives on the outwardly extending portions adhere to each other when the side portions overlap and secure the covering to the shoe. While the coverings of Kasbrick and Baxter are similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, they differ in that they wrap around the shoe for securement, fail to provide a more compact shoe covering, and further differ in that they lack hands free attachment of the sole to the shoe bottom.
Another such device is U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,054 to Milner, which describes a disposable sole for a shoe of a user. The sole is used to reduce the exchange of elements, such as dirt and grime and is meant for use in the home, office, and/or public restrooms and is applied to the sole of a shoe by a pressure sensitive adhesive. Although the disposable sole of Milner is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, it differs in that it fails to provide a convenient and hands free means for attaching the sole cover onto the sole of the footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,559,159 to Lundberg describes a protector for the sole of a shoe or bare foot. The sole protector is disposable and has a ground touching surface and a foot touching surface having an adhesive. A plurality of sole protectors are detachably secured to each other in tables form and are shaped to fit directly onto the feet or bottom of shoes. While the sole protectors of Lundberg are similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, they differ in that they fail to provide a holder for the protectors, and further fail to provide a hands free means for attaching the sole cover onto the sole of footwear.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,872 to Pettis describes a sole protector for a shoe that is adapted to attach to and cover the entire sole. The sole protector comprises a removable peel layer adjacent to an adhesive layer that attaches to the sole of the shoe. Although the sole protector of Pettis is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, it differs in that it fails to provide a holder for the protectors, and further fails to provide a hands free means for attaching the sole cover onto the footwear.
The present invention relates to a new and improved device that dispenses sole covers for a user to eliminate contact between the soles of a user's shoes and an interior floor, while dispensing the same without requiring the user to manually apply the covers. The device includes an upper lid and a lower base that form a housing having an internal compartment and an exposed central area. Within the internal compartment is a set of rollers, a rolled sheet of sole covers, and a means for dispensing the sole covers over the exposed central area of the device from the rolled sheet. A user steps onto the platform, thereby attaching the sole cover to sole of a user's shoe one at a time, which removes the sole cover from the exposed section of sheet. The dispensing device and sheet of removable sole covers aid in decreasing the spread of unsanitary elements into indoor spaces, and aids in reducing the clutter of shoes left at the entrance of a house, office, or other dwelling by enabling a user to keep their shoes on and attach the sole covers without manual application.
In view of the drawbacks of the prior art devices, it is submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art, and subsequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing sole attachment devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.